


Break Me

by winterfirehair



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Child Death, Dave just has a fetish for hurting people, F/M, Ghosts, Implied pedophilia, Jeremy is too sweet for his own good, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Mike is Australian, Rape/Non-con Elements, Scott is just gross, Slight Pedophilia, Slow Burn, Smut, Supernatural Elements, and Jeremy, at least slow burn-ish, dave is an asshole, especially children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-02-13 22:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12993615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterfirehair/pseuds/winterfirehair
Summary: When Jeremy starts to work at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza he doesn't know he'll be pulled into a story of possessed animatronics, child murder and the total loss of his innocence. | Rating and tags will change as the story progresses. I'll post specific warnings for every chapter in the notes at the beginning if there's a trigger warning needed.





	1. Chemistry

"He can't be serious."

With utter disgust Dave stared on the display of his smartphone which showed a conversation in the messenger he used.

"Hey Dave, just wanted to let you know that you'll finally get a partner for your night shifts. His name is Jeremy and he's in training to become a night guard. I want you to coach the boy as best as you can. He seems nice, so don't scare him away!"

His left eye twitched slightly as he opened the picture that had been send following the message for a better view.  
A young, innocent looking face smiled in the camera, seemingly a bit shy. Red, curly hair framed an alabaster face with some freckles around his cute nose. To finish his redhead appearance, the boy had the greenest eyes Dave had ever seen. Without really thinking about it he let his imagination wander, wondering what it would be like to see the life fading from these beautiful soul gems. Slightly smirking he licked his lips. It surely would be fun to finish this one. But this boy wasn't a child anymore, even though he looked like only maybe sixteen or seventeen. So innocent.

Still, Dave wasn't happy about this decision. A partner was the last thing he needed and a nosy child that needed pampering all the time was even worse. What kind of kid was this Jeremy, wanting to spend his nights at a place like Freddy Fazbear's Pizza?

The night guard sighed and typed only a "K" back to his boss, just to let the other man know that he had seen the message, before throwing the smartphone on his kitchen table which was covered with news papers of the last two weeks. The last one showed a full-site article on the front page.

"Third child gone missing - police unable to get useful clues on the kidnapper"

With some freshly made cheese toast Dave sat down at the table and pulled the newspaper over to read the article. His lips curved into a smile. The whole thing was amusing. Those police officers had all kinds of technology at hand to get all kinds of criminals arrested and still they weren't able to catch the kidnapper - the killer - of these children that went missing.

Underneath the article they had printed pictures of the kids, a girl and two boys. Dave smiled when he traced their printed cheeks with a finger. Their faces were imprinted in his memory, uneraseable, as well as the sound of their screams and the taste of their blood. It had been so pleasurable to get his hands on these innocent little lives. He had to make plans for some time, but in the end it had been worth it.

But now, his next victim would have to wait even longer than just until he planned every little detail. With a partner it would be hard to get his hands on the children that visited Freddy Fazbear's and even harder to harm them.

"Fuck this shit!"

Enraged, he slammed his fist on the table, which made the plate in front of him jump slightly.  
This Jeremy kid would not stop him from getting his pleasure. Even if he had to make him his next instead of a child.

\-------------------

Jeremy on the other hand, just a few blocks away, didn't even think about the way his future partner just reacted to the fact he would get company from now on.

Still, the teenager felt like dying soon. Not at the hands of a serial killer though, but from the nervousness that flooded his body with adrenaline.

"I still can't believe I got this job! And my boss just texted me this on Whatsapp. What kind of boss texts his workers on Whatsapp? Do you think this is a joke? Maybe they just want to prank me. And when I go there they'll just cover me in pig's blood or something like that..."

"You watched way too many horror movies, Jer. Why would they prank you? Your boss is a business man, he has better things to do than to prank a little boy."

Kathy - Jeremy's best friend - just shook her head, disbelieving. She still couldn't understand the boy's excitement about his job. He was so talented in many ways, good looking and had a nice character - and now he would let all these traits rot away in a stinky kid's pizzeria during the night.

"Hey! I'm not a little boy, I just turned eighteen."

The boy pouted cutely, but Kathy ignored his comment.

"Are you still sure about working there? This place gives me the creeps already in the day, I don't want to know what lurks around there at night! And didn't you hear that those missing children probably disappeared there? They could be kidnappers or even worse, murderers!"

Jeremy seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then smiled. "It's a nice place Kath, I'm sure. Why would they kidnap or murder little kids? To make pizza out of them?"

"It wouldn't surprise me, to be honest."

The two teenagers stared at each other for a moment, taking the thought of literal children's pizza in, before both of them broke into laughter.

"This is disgusting! Ew!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Kathy grabbed his hand and made a serious face again. "Promise me you'll careful, Jer. I'm serious, something is wrong with this place and I don't want you to get hurt."

He blinked a bit confused, but then smiled at her. "I promise."

"And you'll tell me if you think something is weird?"

"Sure", he said with a nod. "But I tell you, it's just a normal pizzeria and a normal job. You'll see."

"Yeah... I guess..."

Kathy let go of his hand and nodded, even though she did not look like she believed him at all. Jeremy knew, but he was too exited to care about it right now. Kathy had always been the nervous type of person while he was almost painfully optimistic, maybe even a bit naive.

"So, when do you have to start?"

Jeremy looked at his phone. "He told me to come in at six to meet the other night guard who will coach me and take a look at the building. And my regular shifts will start on monday."

"Did he tell you who you'll be working with?"

"Yeah. His name is Dave. I even got a picture of him."  
He tapped on the photo his boss had sent him and turned the phone so Kathy could look at it. She made a skeptical face. "He seems... eccentric..."

Jeremy just shrugged. "I'm sure he's nice. I like his hair already."

He looked down on the picture and smiled. He couldn't help but think Dave had style. He wore his long, purple colored hair in a ponytail and there was a slight but neat three-day stubble visible on his chin. There was only one thing about Dave that made him slightly uncomfortable - his eyes. The man had pretty eyes, no questions asked, but there was something unsettling about their steel grey appearance. While Dave seemed like an energetic person, those eyes were cold and dead. Jeremy shivered slightly and locked his display. Probably this was only the light when the photo was taken and Dave wouldn't be so intimidating in real life.

"Do you think he'll like me?"

Kathy looked up from her own phone. "Huh?"

Her friend shifted uncomfortably. "I mean Dave. Do you think he'll like me?"

She raised an eyebrow and it seemed like she wanted to say something, but decided otherwise. After a moment, she just shrugged. "Why wouldn't he? You're pretty and smart. If he's not a total asshole and you don't instantly attack him with your gayness, you'll be good partners I guess."

"Hey, I don't attack anyone with my gayness! How would I even do that..."

"Oh Dave, your hair is so amazing, please let me touch it, just once? And your eyes, your beautiful eyes, I could look into them all day!... Oh Dave, you beautiful male human being..."  
She made a swooning pose and Jeremy slowly turned red. "I just said his hair looks nice..."

Kathy grinned at him. "Which means exactly what I just said."

Jeremy just grumbled into his coffee at that. Of course this was only mockery, nothing serious and he wasn't actually offended, but still the thought irritated him. He really just said and meant that the night guard had nice hair.

\-------------------

Said night guard just bound his mentioned hair into his characteristic pony tail before he slid his guard uniform on. As his boss had told him after their kinda one-sided conversation earlier, he wouldn't take the whole night shift today, but instead had to arrive at six pm for the evening shift. All for that Jeremy kid. Their boss wanted them to meet to see if they had chemistry. And they indeed had: Dave was already boiling with anger inside without even knowing the kid. What a nice chemistry.

He looked at the clock. Half an hour was left before he had to be at the pizzeria so he didn't have to hurry. He could even walk there if he wanted to and still be on time. Actually, walking seemed a pretty good idea considering the mild weather, so Dave grabbed his stuff and left his apartment, leaving his car inside the garage.  
Despite his anger, he couldn't help but wonder what the boy would be like. After all, it wasn't like he could just demand to work alone without being suspicious, so he could at least hope that this Jeremy guy wasn't too much of a pain in the ass.

Shortly before reaching the restaurant, he lit himself a cigarette. He wasn't a fan of the taste, but nicotine had the side effect of calming him down, so he was able to get through the day without ripping someone's head off. The irritating taste was worth it if he managed those six working hours without killing his new colleague.

Straight when the clock chimed six he entered the pizzeria, to see that his boss and that Jeremy kid were already waiting for him.  
Dave forced himself to look friendly and cover his thoughts that would have been very readable on his face otherwise.  
„Boss. Hey kiddo. I'm Dave. You must be Jeremy, right?“  
With a nice smile he held out his hand to the boy, who took and shook it, too smiling. „Yeah, I'm Jeremy. It's nice to meet you, Dave.“

Their boss eyed them for a moment and then turned to Dave, apparently pleased with what he saw. „Please be nice to him Dave. You could show him the building for now, your working place and maybe tell him what exactly awaits him here.“

„Sure boss.“  
Dave only nodded and then gestured for Jeremy to follow him. „Come, kiddo.“  
He couldn't help but cringe when the boy followed his order like a little dog, but it didn't seem like Jeremy even noticed. He was busy trying to get a look at the place. Dave raised an eyebrow. What was so damn interesting about a pizzeria? It seemed as if the kid had never been in a place like this. Maybe he hadn't. But didn't he have an interview with their boss?

"You've never been here, kiddo?"

Jeremy looked up to the slightly taller man and shook his head. "No, never. I moved here only two years ago and actually your - our boss didn't want to meet me for an interview. He straight out accepted me and told me to come here today."

"I see.“  
Great... so he had to start from zero. „Well... this is the main area. Over there's the kitchen."  
He gestured to the visible double door from where probably kitchen sounds would have mingled with sounds of the few families with their kids and the animatronics on the stage, if they would've been not so loud. „The main stage and the pirate cove are where the animatronics do their shows. Between the shows and at night they are in roaming mode so they walk around and interact with the kids.“

He walked towards the Pirate Cove and then turned right, into a room where a few smaller kids were playing. „Here's the Kid's Cove and the prize corner. The animatronics usually don't go in here because the little ones are easily scared. We only got Balloon Boy in here and the Puppet.“  
Dave pointed out the two toys. „Even though I don't know why the management thinks these two are less scary. They are probably the scariest things I've ever seen. Especially this Marionette thing...“

Jeremy watched as the Puppet rose from her – his? - box to give a little boy a yellow colored Freddy plush toy. Its appearance reminded him of Slender Man, just with a creepy mask. The blue streaks looked like tears... who on earth would think that this was a good toy for little kids? He shuddered. „Yeah... I get what you mean...“

They left the room and walked across the Dining Area to a door right beside the Main Stage. When they passed it, the sounds of the busy pizzeria where muffled.  
Dave turned left, since there was only a wall to the right and Jeremy followed him. „Over here we got a Game Room for the older kids, but it's mostly unused. The boss thinks about closing it down. Then there's the Supply Closet if you ever need a broom or something.“

Jeremy nodded, smiling. The building was big, but easy to understand.  
"Alright. And... What's this?"  
He pointed to the door next to the Supply Room.

"The parts and service room."  
Dave unlocked the door so the boy could throw a quick glance in it. Jeremy stuck his head inside, just to flinch away from the smell. Old sweat, oil and something else drenched the small room in a disgusting smell.  
Dave just laughed as he closed the door. "It's disgusting isn't it? Don't worry, you usually won't have to go in there. And if you have to", he turned and gestured towards the toilets at the opposite side of the Supply Closet and the Game Room, "you can puke your guts out right after you leave."

"That's really nice..."

Jeremy still seemed a little sick, so Dave sighed. "Boy, it's okay. You won't have to go in there. We only keep spare parts of the animatronics there so we night guards have more or less nothing to do there. That's something the technicians have to handle. Our main work is over there." He pointed at the door at the end of the hallway. "Come on."

„So... you said we night guards. Are there more than just us?“

Walking towards the night office they came across four other doors. Dave opened one of them to show the boy one of the party rooms. "We use them for birthday parties. There are two girl's rooms and two boy's rooms which are just decorated differently. And, to answer your question, there is one other night guard. His name's Mike. You'll most likely meet him today, he will take over at midnight.“

Jeremy nodded and smiled. "Alright."  
He hoped Mike was as nice as Dave. If his coach was always this friendly, they would probably get along perfectly.

"And I guess this is the control room?", he then tried before Dave could speak. The other man smiled and nodded. "It is. Come in, take a seat."  
He held the door for the smaller teenager, who went in and sat down on one of the two chairs behind the desk while examining the room.

Dave noticed the faint smell of aftershave in the air when Jeremy walked past him. It smelled good, he had to admit that. Instantly, the rage inside him returned. He shouldn't like anything surrounding the brat, but Jeremy made it too easy to like him. Which fueled his rage even further.

Taking a quick, deep breath, Dave smiled. "So, this is where ninety percent of our job takes place. It's kinda boring to be honest, so if you like I won't mind it if you bring a book or something like that to use up the time."

He sat down next to the teenager and picked the tablet up, turning it on and pointing on the screen that showed Kid's Cove. "This thing is paired with every camera in the building. With these buttons you can change the rooms. During day shift, we use them to ensure nothing happens to the customers. There are other employees in the main areas, but they can't keep an eye on everything and it's just cheaper to hire someone who watches through the cams than more staff members that walk around."  
He shrugged.  
"During the night we make sure the animatronics don't break anything while in roaming mode. And, of course, we have to watch out for robbers or children that try to stay overnight. But this doesn't happen that often so it's usually really quiet here."

"Wait, you said during day shift. I thought I would be trained to be a night guard?"  
Jeremy seemed irritated. He wouldn't mind working during the day but primarily he had prepared himself for night shifts only.

Dave seemed to be understanding though. "That's right. You are being trained to be a night guard, but you'll probably have to do day shifts as well. You see kiddo, this shithole of a company wants to make as much money as possible so they want to run the business as cheap as possible. We haven't got enough staff for shit. Mike and me try to split the night and day shifts in a manner that allows both of us enough sleep and the chance to live a normal life. But it's kinda hard. They probably took you in so fast because they were annoyed by the complaints Mike and me have been filing."  
He snorted, shaking his head. "Mike should've been the manager of this place already but I don't think they're willing to give him the damn promotion."

"That's awful...", Jeremy mumbled.

"Dave, you shouldn't turn this kid against the company when its not even his real first day. Shame on you."

Both of them jumped at the sudden voice. 

A guy leaned in the doorway, a smile on his face. But even smiling he wasn't really sympathetic at all. His teeth shimmered yellow and his beard wasn't halfway as neatly trimmed as Dave's. His whole appearance seemed rather dirty to Jeremy and he wondered if this guy even knew what a shower was - or a hair stylist, as his hair kinda looked like he cut it himself.

He had to fake a smile when the guy stepped over and took his hand to shake it. "I'm Scott. You're the new kid? We talked on the phone but I would've imagined you were older."

Jeremy continued to fake his smile. "Well, we probably all imagine our phone partners... to be different from what they really are like.", he mumbled. Scott laughed, loudly, and let go of his hand so he didn't notice how Jeremy kinda jumped. "Oh you have no idea kid! I manage all the phone stuff here so I exactly know what you feel like! You could call me 'The Phone Guy'!"

"Alright Scott, stop making the kiddo nervous with all your... stuff. Shoo. Don't you have work to do?"

Of course, Dave couldn't care less if Jeremy was nervous or not, but something about Scott jumping on Jeremy like that annoyed him. The other man seemed a bit surprised, but shrugged. "Sure, there's always work to do. See you, kid!"

Scott swaggered away, not noticing how Dave glared at his back for a moment before turning to Jeremy. "He's an idiot. You should probably avoid him if you don't want to get involved into weird discussions."

"Okay."  
Jeremy nodded and smiled at Dave - this time genuinely. "Thank you for... eh... saving me?"

For a second, Dave seemend surprised, maybe even irritated. The he suddenly just ruffled Jeremy's hair. "No problem kiddo."   
Jeremy blinked. This... was awkward. He wasn't a little child!

Dave seemed to notice his unease so he laughed. "I'm sorry kiddo. Habit of working with kids."

"It's okay. It's just... I'm not a child anymore but I kinda feel like everyone here sees me as one."

He almost pouted, but realised this would've been even more childish than only complaining.  
Dave sighed internally. He should really take a look at Jeremy's paperwork in the boss' office, he couldn't shake off the feeling Jeremy was everything else but eighteen. He was really pampering a fucking child right now.   
Still, he smiled. "Don't worry kiddo. Newbies are always something like kids to us, no matter how old they are. This is nothing personal."

He could see how the teenager relaxed. So he had a fear of not being taken seriously. This was interesting.

"So... you're eighteen, kiddo?"

Jeremy smiled at the older man and nodded. "Yeah. How old are you?"

Dave clicked his tongue. "You can be happy I'm not a woman, otherwise I would scold you now for asking me this. But as I'm clearly male... I'm 32. Probably an old man for a kid like you." He smirked at Jeremy, who went kinda red while shaking his head.  
"I don't think you're old!"

"Well thank you. I'll take that as a compliment."  
The older man laughed while slightly shaking his head and then started checking the cameras while Jeremy watched.

They didn't really talk, but still the time passed quickly while they watched the customers leave so the staff could clean up and then leave too. Only Scott cared enough to poke his head into their office again and bid them a good night with a smile that Jeremy could only describe as utterly horrifying. He wouldn't want to meet this guy in the dark.

The clock on the desk showed 11:46 when they saw a figure entering the building. Jeremy opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it without making a sound. Of course this had to be the other guard.

Said guard soon walked into their office with a smile. "Dave matey, how's it?"

He had a thick Australian accent which Jeremy liked instantly. Mike's blond hair was tied into a small bun and skin was a sun-kissed even with him being a night guard.  
Dave greeted him only by nodding, not even slightly as enthusiastic as his co-worker. Mike didn't seem to mind but instead focused on Jeremy, who quickly stood up to take the man's hand. "Ya must be Jeremy! I've already heard we got a new employee 'round. How's it? Dave bein' nice to ya?"

Jeremy smiled, a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiasm. "Uhm yes, I'm Jeremy. You're Mike right?"

"Alive and in person!"

"Give that kiddo room to breathe Mike. He's already met Scott, with you jumping at him too he'll have nightmares tonight."  
Dave didn't even look up from the newspaper he had grabbed a while ago and Jeremy could see the slight smile on his lips. So these two were clearly on better terms than Dave and Scott were.

„Oh come on Davey, he's a big boy. Aren't ya, matey?“

Suddenly, Mike slapped his hand on Jeremy's shoulder, which made the boy flich, but he still smiled a little. „Yeah. Sure I am.“

Dave only raised an eyebrow, but before he could say something, the clock chimed 12. The purple haired men threw the newspaper on the desk. „Fucking finally. Let's go Jeremy, we're done.“

„Already?“  
Jeremy seemed surprised, the time had passed quicker than he thought. He wasn't even tired from sitting around and talking with Dave and Mike. Still, he nodded before turning and smiling softly at Mike. „See you around Mike!“

„See ya matey! Don't let the grumpy purple man eat you!“  
The Australian winked, which made Jeremy blush a little. That had sounded so wrong.

Dave seemed to not mind the comment, but waved shortly in Mike's direction before leaving the office together with Jeremy.  
The boy still smiled, seemingly happy with how his test day worked out. The purple haired man noticed his happy state instantly.

„You're still smiling. Are you that happy about working here?“

His voice was calm, the interest all but real, but Jeremy didn't notice that Dave couldn't care less if he enjoyed working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and nodded.

„Yeah! I mean, you guys are all really nice to me, even Scott, so why wouldn't I be happy to work here?“

Dave shrugged. „Dunno. Hey kiddo, do me a favor okay? Stay away from Scott. He's a pervert.“

"Oh... alright. I guess I kinda already figured that. You don't like him, right?"

"I'm not exactly hiding it. But he either doesn't get it or he doesn't care."  
Dave made an annoyed sound. "Sometimes I just want to murder him."  
He then quickly looked at Jeremy and smiled. "I'm only kidding. But still, watch out."

They walked into the now dark main area that was filled with noises of the animatronics walking around. Jeremy seemed unsure, but he trusted his co-worker and just followed Dave. The robots did not pay attention to them, mindlessly walking around in the big area with loud metal footsteps. Only one seemed to notice them and turned to walk over to them. It was the big blue bunny with the red guitar. It didn't do anything, just stared at them, but it gave Jeremy the creeps. He could feel how he got goosebumps. "What the..."

Dave didn't seem impressed. "Don't mind him. Bonnie is always a bit... well, he likes people I guess. He probably wants to know you."

The boy looked up at the big bunny. He still had a weird feeling, but he still managed to smile at the animatronic. "Uhm... hi Bonnie? I'm Jeremy... the new night guard?"  
He did not expect any reaction, so he jumped a bit when the bunny tilted his head a bit and rather loud guitar sounds came from the speakers hidden where he touched the instrument. Bonnie stood there for a moment, playing his guitar, before he went silent again and simply walked away.

Jeremy, who had unintentionally held his breath, sighed. "Okay, now that was weird..."

His partner chuckled a bit. "You'll get used to them kiddo. Once you know their ticks, it's easy to handle them."

The boy looked at the four moving robots, a bear, a chicken, a fox and the bunny. It was probably just how they looked like moving around in the dark and the weird encounter he just had, but he didn't think he would get used to these animatronics.


	2. Faces in Disguise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Mild Gore, Mentioned Character Death, Vomiting.

Working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was easy.

Jeremy felt underchallenged most of the time, but he wouldn't complain about that. He hadn’t expected the job to be exciting or thrilling and he was okay with the way it was.

He, Dave and Mike hadn't found a final way how to put their shifts once their boss would allow Jeremy to work alone, but they could go with how it went now. Jeremy was mostly working with Dave, but there had been a few nights already were Mike was his partner. They both did their best to train him properly and Jeremy could definitely say that he liked both of his colleagues.

There just wasn't much to be trained in. He had to monitor the cameras to watch out for kids that managed to hide until the restaurant closed, for thieves and for the animatronics. They would roam the whole building in between their shows during their day and the whole night, and sometimes they would get stuck in a doorway or at the tables. Then, Jeremy would be required to leave the office to help them.

The first few times he did this, he still had the same weird feeling like he had when Bonnie stood in front of him on the first evening. Suddenly he was cold and got goosebumps. It had kinda scared him, because it reminded him of movies where people met ghosts and if there was anything Jeremy was terrified about it was ghosts.

But now he was getting used to it. The animatronics were still weird, but they didn't really scare him that much anymore. He would even describe their programming as friendly. Or at least, they seemed friendly and even kind of thankful when he helped them. Bonnie as well as the chicken, Chica, were somehow the clumsiest.  
"I think they like you. Bet they wanna spend time with you kiddo", Dave had joked. But he had assured him that they were not technologically advanced enough to really like people or not. Still, he had to admit that he never had to help them that often before.

"They’re probably getting old. But we can't just put new animatronics here. The kids wouldn't understand and anyway, the company is way too stingy to pay for new ones,” Dave shrugged when Jeremy just returned to their office after he had to help Chica who had been stuck in the kitchen door. The boy nodded, understanding. "I get the kids' side. I mean, they love these characters. If I had grown up with these, I wouldn't be happy if they were scrapped, too."

"They get used to the new ones after some time. Originally, there were only the first versions of Freddy and Bonnie and they were scrapped. And now look at the kids. They love the new ones."

"There were others before?" Jeremy sat down on his chair and looked at Dave curiously, who stopped checking the cameras and nodded. "Yeah. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza emerged as a chain from one restaurant that was called Fredbear's Family Diner. Fredbear was the first version of Freddy. And then there was his partner Spring Bonnie. Their design was completely different from today's versions. Their fur was yellow, or golden. The kids often called them Golden Fred and Golden Bonnie."

"That's amazing. Why were they scrapped?"

Dave smiled sadly and looked down at his hands for a moment, before answering the younger. "You know, Fredbear and Spring Bonnie were different. The new animatronics are filled to the brim with wires and crossbeams and other technical stuff. That was also the case with these two, but they had a built-in mechanism to compress all this stuff enough for a person to fit inside."

"You could wear them as suits!", Jeremy suddenly realized and Dave nodded.

"Exactly. But the thing was... this mechanism was unsafe. Dangerous. We all were instructed on how to use them but there was still a big risk. Just that we didn't know that until the failure."

The purple haired man went silent and Jeremy stared at him, wondering if Dave would tell him what happened - and if he even wanted to know. The man had never been so hesitant to talk about something.

"I knew them, you know.", Dave continued after a moment of silence. "We were colleagues. Friends."

That was enough for Jeremy to understand that this failure had led to the death of his colleagues. Instantly, he bit his lip and reached out to touch Dave’s hand in a soothing manner while searching for something he could say to express how sorry he felt, but Dave only smiled weakly at the teen. "It's okay. I've mourned them, but life goes on. So... yeah, the failure. These things that were holding back the animatronic devices were called spring locks. They are not really effective. They snap way too easily. It's enough to just breathe on them because they instantly react to moisture. And in that case, they snapped too. I'll never forget that sound.”

Dave took a deep breath and Jeremy already opened his mouth to tell him to stop, because the older man clearly was in pain about these memories, but he already continued.

“It was just a little, clicking sound. And then... you heard flesh ripping and bones breaking and the gurgling sound of someone drowning in their own blood. The animatronic parts snap back in their place so quickly that you’re not even be able to scream. They pierce your lungs and break your bones..."

Jeremy felt how his stomach made a sharp turn and made a small sound of disgust. He couldn't even imagine how someone could die such a horrible death.

"So... that's why they were scrapped? Because someone died in them?"  
Jeremy was so shocked that his voice was trembling. Dave only nodded. "Yeah."

They were silent afterwards. Jeremy felt sick, almost as if he would throw up if he only moved a muscle. Dave watched the boy. He found it quite interesting how Jeremy reacted to his story, that was by no means made up, even though he had made it sound more dramatic than it really had been. Jeremy’s fingers still touched his hand, warm and soft, until Dave gently moved his hands away to start checking the cameras again. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the boy blush slightly, which made him smile a little. Jeremy was flustered so easily by little things, which was quite amusing.

Looking back at the monitors, he saw how Freddy and Foxy wandered around in the main area while, according to the noises, Chica seemed to mess around in the kitchen again. Or maybe it was Bonnie, Dave wouldn't know. The camera in the kitchen had a disfunction ever since, it only showed a black screen.   
While Dave looked for the fourth animatronic, metallic steps came closer, indicating that whatever animatronic was missing was on its way to their office. It was not uncommon that they were visited, so they both did not think of it as weird, until suddenly the door was slammed open und banged hard against the wall, leaving a visible mark. Jeremy made a startled noise and slipped to the floor from his chair in shock, staying on the ground with a slightly hurting rear.

Bonnie stood in their office, staring quietly, as if he was searching something. For Jeremy, wearing only a T-Shirt, it seemed like the temperature in the room was cooling down, faster and faster every second. Soon he could see his breath in the air, a fine dust like they were outside in a winter night. Even Dave looked uncomfortable now, his breathing visible too.

The animatronic didn’t seem to find whatever he was searching. He stepped closer to where Dave was sitting, suddenly emerging a somehow threatening, mechanical growl that made both Dave and Jeremy flinch in shock. The purple haired man stared at the animatronic, surprised by this behaviour. Not even one of the animatronics had ever behaved this way, and Dave had worked with them for a long time now.  
Jeremy stared up at him, invisible for the giant bunny where he sat on the floor. The other guard sent him a quick glance and shrugged nervously. "I have no idea what's going on kid..."

Bonnie stepped even closer and tilted his head, looking somewhat ready to attack the night guard, when he finally spotted Jeremy. The boy shuddered when the metal eyes stared at him in a way that was reminding him too much of a human.

The animatronic looked at the older guard again, growling a second time before he turned and walked out of the office like nothing had happened. Instantly, the room warmed up again.

Jeremy stared at Dave until the sounds of the animatronic walking away had vanished, before jumping to his feet and running out of the room. He barely made it to the toilets before he threw up violently, falling to his knees in front of the toilet. Cold sweat ran down his neck and made his shirt stick to his back and his hair to his forehead. He shivered before vomiting into the toilet for a second time. His stomach ached and his throat burned. Closing his eyes he lost his track of time, feeling like he would pass out soon. When he suddenly felt a hand on his back, he jumped.

"Relax kid. Are you okay?"  
Dave looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but not really concerned. He seemed rather annoyed, so Jeremy smiled weakly. "Yeah. I guess..."  
"You wanna go home? It's almost midnight anyway so you can go if you want."  
He paused a moment, looking at the distressed boy. "Oh fuck it, I'm not letting you go by yourself like that. Come on, I'll take you home."

Jeremy wanted to protest, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He still felt like shit and walking home was not really an option right now.  
"Thank you Dave..."

His colleague only shrugged when Jeremy flushed the toilet and pulled himself up on wobbly legs. "No problem. Just don't puke in my car or I'll sadly have to kill you."  
There was a dark glint in Dave's eyes, but Jeremy didn't notice. Quickly, he rinsed his mouth with some water from the sink to get rid of the taste of vomit. "I'll give my best..."

While Jeremy waited in the hallway, leaning against the wall for support, Dave went back to the office to get his keys and turn off the lights. He then illuminated their way with his smartphone. Jeremy had a feeling like he was drunk, he couldn't walk straight and almost crashed into the door if it hadn't been for Dave to grip his arm and hold him steady.

The animatronics ignored them, even Bonnie, but Jeremy was rather glad about it. He wouldn't manage to get over another shock this night. His chest still hurt, and so did his stomach and throat. He just wanted to crawl in his bed and sleep the pain and everything else away.

Dave had parked his old Honda Civic behind the building. Jeremy smiled a bit despite his sickness. "You colored it purple? At least I guess they don't deliver it in purple normally..."

The older man grinned when he opened the door for him and waited for Jeremy to safely climb in, then sat down himself on the driver’s seat. "Hell yeah I did. I love my car."  
The boy closed the door and fastened his seatbelt, leaning his head against the rather cold window. He sighed. It was feeling good on his heatened skin.

"Hey kiddo, at least give me your address."

Jeremy blinked, surprised. Dave had already started the car without him noticing. He probably already drifted off into sleep. "...'m sorry...", he mumbled. He told the man the address of his apartment and drifted away again before they even left the parking space of Freddy's.

 

He woke up again when his head had an unpleasant meeting with the doorframe of the car. Jeremy hissed, struggling as he jerked awake and felt hands on his body.

"Shit kiddo, stop or I'll drop you!"

The boy groaned, stopping his movement to rub his head. "Ouch..."  
He then blinked, staring at his colleague who had one arm under his knees and the other gripping his upper body, holding him in bridal style. Jeremy blushed. "What..."  
"I just wanted to let you sleep. You seem exhausted enough and I didn't want to risk a grumpy kiddo."  
Dave quickly let the boy down. "But you can walk yourself now I guess. Or not?"

"Y-Yeah. Sure. Thank you, Dave."

"Nothing to thank me for. Just watch your steps and don't hurt yourself more. G'Night."

Jeremy waved a little when Dave drove off, before turning and slowly walking towards the building. He had a bit of trouble to find his keys and get them into the keyhole, but soon enough he finally could enter. His apartment was one of three and located on the second floor, but thankfully enough there was an elevator he could take instead of the stairs. Still having somewhat wobbly legs, Jeremy was glad about that option.

When he opened the door to his small apartment, he was welcomed by loud meowing from his tabby cat and knelt to the floor to softly rub its head. "Hey Mocha... yeah I'm back..."

Mocha had been somewhat of a birthday gift to Jeremy. When he had turned sixteen, the small cat had simply appeared in front of the house his mother and him had lived in back then. Taking it to the vet, they found out that Mocha was a stray cat, so there was no question about Jeremy keeping it. He just did.

When Jeremy stood up to finally get into his bed, the little brown tabby followed him, purring loudly, which made Jeremy smile. He loved that cat.

Sighing, the boy sat down on his bed and let himself fall on his back. Mocha jumped on top of him and licked his cheek as if to keep him awake so he could change into his pajamas, but it didn't even take Jeremy a minute to drift off to sleep.


	3. Shout

When Jeremy awoke, his head felt like Dave had smashed a hole in it last night when he let him bump into the doorframe.

Groaning, the teenager lifted himself up, holding his head and blinking against the sunlight that shone through the window into his bedroom. His body was sore and he had slept in his working clothes which were now covered in Mocha’s hairs.

"Fuckin' shit..."

The boy moaned in pain when he managed to stand up and limp into the bathroom to use the toilet and search for some painkillers. He quickly brushed his teeth to get the lingering taste of vomit out of his mouth before he took the pills with some water and leaned his forehead against the cold glass of his mirror until he felt like he wasn’t going to collapse anymore.

Soon enough, Mocha came to rub his head on Jeremy's leg, meowing hungrily. The boy smiled, following the cat into his small but pretty kitchen still wavering a bit, but at least the painkillers kicked in now and took most of the pain away.

He fed the cat first before making some toast for himself, sitting down on his couch in the living room with it. Just when he grabbed the remote to turn on the TV, his doorbell rang, shooting a stinging pain through his head that made him moan in pain. "Fuckin’ hell..."

Slowly, he made his way to the door and opened it, just to almost fall over because Katherine stormed into his apartment. "Woah, slow down!"

"Jeremy! I was worried! You wouldn't pick up the phone or reply to my messages! What the hell were you thinking? Even your mom is worried!"

Jeremy blinked at the brown-haired girl, confused. "I... what? I've slept until now, where's the prob-"

He stopped when he saw the time the clock on his wall showed. It was already six in the evening. He had slept for almost 18 hours? The boy gulped, now seeing why she was so upset. Kathy looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You look like shit. Are you sick?"

"I know what I look like, thank you very much... and... yeah, kind of.", he grumbled, a bit upset by her comment and sat down on the couch again to take a tiny bite of his toast.

"What is going on Jer?"

Now more calmly, the girl closed the door and sat down next to him. Jeremy only grunted and finished the bite, before shrugging. "I don't know. It's the damn pizzeria."

"Again? Jeremy, if you are scared just stop working there! This place is dangerous, I tell you!"

"And how should I pay the rent then? I can't just tell my mom to pay for me again, or even move in with her again. I want to be independent Kathy, you know that!", he shot back hotly. She made a face.

"I'm sure that you'll manage to find another job. I mean, really? A night guard? Jeremy, you're only wasting your talents in that pizzeria!"

"Oh and what talents do you mean?" Jeremy glared at his friend. "Talents that actually can be used to get money!", he threw in, when the girl already opened her mouth. She glared back at him. "Fine. If you think you don't have talents that can't be used at work, so be it. But Jeremy, please. You say yourself that you're scared. What did even happen now?"

Jeremy sat the plate down on the small table in front of them and rubbed his face, sighing. "I don't even know. You know how I told you these animatronics are sometimes weird? Well... Bonnie... the bunny, you know? He... acted really weird last night. I think even Dave was afraid and he works with these things for years now!"

"What do you mean, 'he acted weird'?"

Kathy laid her hand on his upper leg, looking at him with a worried expression, while Jeremy stared down on the carpet, noting to himself that he'd have to clean it of cat hair later.

"Bonnie came into our office last night. I mean, that's okay, they all do that from time to time... but something about him was... off. I told you how it feels, right? It was as if the whole room was freezing. I could even see my freaking breath. I... I think Dave felt it too. And Bonnie was... searching for something. I don't even know how this is possible but he seemed to be searching something and he didn't find it and... oh god I was so scared Kathy..."

The girl quickly hugged him, pulling him against her slender body and stroking his hair softly.

"Shh... Jeremy, these things are robots. I understand that you think they're creepy and all, but... they are just robots."

"But he seemed so alive!", Jeremy cried out, entangling himself from her grip and jumping to his feet. Clearly upset, he started to walk around in the living room. "He didn't find whatever he was searching for and... and he just walked over to Dave and he fucking growled! He growled at Dave and... and I think he wanted to hurt him!"

"Okay Jeremy, now that's absurd. These things can't think! They are programmed to entertain children, nothing more or less. Calm down, please. You're scaring me!"

Jeremy didn't listen to her. He continued walking up and down, the scene of last night clearly in front of his eyes as if he was there again. Suddenly, he stopped, all colour leaving his face. "It was me..."

"... What?"

Kathy stared at him, her bright blue eyes full of confusion behind her glasses.

"It was me."

Jeremy's voice was nothing but a whisper. He felt nauseous again, as if he was about to throw up a second time.

"He was searching... for me... I fell when he came in... I sat under the desk so he couldn't see me... He threatened Dave until... until he saw me... But why? I don't understand..."

Kathy watched him for a moment, then stood up with a serious expression. "Where's your phone?"

"Why?"

Jeremy only blinked, confused. "It's in my bedroom I guess... Hey, where are you going?"

Dumbfounded, he watched after her until she came back with his phone in her hand, typing furiously. "What are you doing? Hey!"

When he tried to grab the phone, she held it out of his reach. "I'm calling you in sick. There's no way you're going there tonight. I won't let you, even if I have to camp in front of your door to ensure you stay here!"

"Kathy, stop! I can't just play sick, I have to work!"

"You're not going Jeremy! I don't know what's wrong with you, but this place is bad for you! Or did you take drugs? I’m serious Jeremy, if they gave you something there..."

"... What?! Kathy I'm not imagining or hallucinating things, this is real! Why would I lie to you?"

"That's what I'm asking myself Jer..."

She sent the message before throwing his phone on the couch and sitting down herself, shaking her head. "You never lied to me and I really want to believe you that something's going on in this place, but this is too much. It sounds like the plot of a horror movie! Come on, just admit you're shitting me!"

Jeremy stared at his friend with a blank expression, tears forming in his eyes and soon blurring his vision. Frustrated, he wiped them away. "Alright. Don't believe me. Continue believing I'm lying to you... but then, please leave."

Kathy looked as if she wanted to say something, but then she decided otherwise. Gritting her teeth, she stood up. "Let's talk when you've calmed down and are able to tell me what really happened. No ghost stories."

Before he could say something, she had already left. Jeremy made a frustrated noise and threw himself on his couch, grabbing his phone. Tears were stinging in his eyes, but he didn't want to cry. Crying would make this argument even more real.

When he unlocked his phone, he already had a new message. Apparently, Kathy had sent the message about him being sick to Dave.

6:36 PM: "Hey Dave, I won't be able to come tonight. Sorry. I'm not feeling that good."

6:38 PM: "Still puking? Or did you hit your head harder than I thought?"

He bit his lip, thinking. He could tell Dave that a friend had wrote that message as a joke and that he would come tonight. But now he thought about it, he didn't really want to. Only the thought of encountering Bonnie gave him goosebumps.

6:40 PM: "Both I guess. Haven't had to throw up again but I still feel nauseous. And I've got a headache."

6:43 PM: "I'll tell the boss if he asks. If not, just say you were here. I'll say you were if he asks me. Guess you need the money kiddo."

6:45 PM: "OMG! Thank you! I need every single dollar... Is it that obvious?"

6:46 PM: "Kinda."

6:47 PM: "I'm sorry..."

6:49 PM: "Don't be. It's okay, we all were in that situation. Well I'm gone now, still got things to do. See you tomorrow night."

6:50 PM: "Okay! See you Dave!"

When Dave went offline, Jeremy exited the messenger and went to get his laptop instead. Opening Google, he bit his lip thinking before typing "ghosts". He clicked on the first entry, which was a long wikipedia page about ghosts. The boy sighed before starting to read.

When he turned off his laptop two hours later, Jeremy was sure to have found the answer to why the animatronics did act so weird, but not the cause. For that, he needed someone who would be able to tell him more of the history behind Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.


	4. Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Passing Out, Mentions of Suicide, Dave nearly getting off on the thought of killing Jer

"Dave... do you believe in ghosts?"

"... the hell kid?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Jeremy fiddled with his fingers nervously. It had taken him some courage to ask Dave such a question and now he kind of regretted it. It hadn't sounded this dumb in his head.

Dave only stared at him utterly confused as if he didn't understand why Jeremy asked him such a ridiculous question. After a moment, he shook his head, chuckling. "You're not serious, are you?"

He watched the younger, seeing how he avoided direct eye contact, and sighed. "... You are serious. Okay, uhm... Well... no. Not really. I think there is a good explanation for every weird thing that happens and that explanation is not that there are some left-over spirits roaming around. This is just impossible if you ask me."

"But what would you do if ghosts were real?"

The boy sounded so shy and young that Dave couldn't fight the urge to grin slightly while just shrugging. "I hate everything that has to do with ghosts so if I couldn't avoid them... I'd probably kill myself I guess."

He watched Jeremy, seeing how the boy flinched and stared at him, shocked. His green eyes were wide and his face looked so young that Dave had the urge to make sure it stayed this way forever.

Jeremy shook him out of his thoughts, his voice almost a bit shrill. "What?! No, you couldn't! Don't you dare joking around with things like this!"

Glaring at him seriously, the boy still seemed so much younger than he was. The way his cheeks were tinted in a light pink, it was easy for Dave to imagine the boy as one of the kids that were running around in the building every day. Maybe dressed in some fan merchandise of the restaurant. A Foxy fan with a pirate hat? The red hair would be fitting, but no. Jeremy would be a little Bonnie. Running around with bunny ears, maybe even a little bunny tail...

"Hey! Do you even listen to me?!"

Dave gasped lightly when Jeremy poked into his chest, still clearly angry. "What?"

"I asked if you were listening! Suicide is not a joke you know!"

The older man blinked before he sighed. "Kiddo, I’m sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Didn't quite overthink what I said, alright?"

Jeremy still glared at him, but he seemed pleased by the mans apology. "Okay... sorry. But this is a sensitive subject for me."

"Can I ask why?"

Jeremy looked at him, surprised, but a static noise interrupted whatever he was going to say. When Dave turned to look at the cameras, they saw Chica stuck in the kitchen doorway, emitting the static. The older one groaned. "Damn things... let's talk when she's no longer trapped, alright kiddo?"

The younger one nodded before leaving to help the chicken. He shivered. If he could, he would probably turn back and ask Dave to help the animatronic, but he didn't want to chicken out. His colleague would probably think of him as crazy, especially after his breakdown and the weird ghost question.

Taking a deep breath, he entered the main area, already prepared for the cold, but it didn't come. He still had a weird feeling like something was in the room with him, but there was no weird temperature change like before. He relaxed a bit. Maybe he was really freaking out over nothing.

Chica made a happy noise when she saw him coming, which made Jeremy smile. Despite the rather creepy design of the chicken, she was kinda cute.

When she tried to wiggle out of the door she was stuck in, Jeremy put his hands on her metal body to hold her still and instead gently push her back into the kitchen. The metal gave a screeching sound on the metal of the doorway which made Jeremy cringe, but it didn't last long; a mere second later the animatronic was free. "There you go. Now let me help you to get through, alright?"

Without waiting for an answer - not that there would've been one - he opened the kitchen doors wide and cleared the way so Chica could walk through and into the main hall, before he closed the doors again. "You probably should just stop going into the kitchen you kn-"

Ending his sentence in a shocked gasp, Jeremy froze when the chicken animatronic suddenly hugged him. His eyes wide open, he stared right into one of the cameras, knowing that Dave would probably laugh at his reaction.

Chica let go of him, and the boy quickly stumbled back before he forced himself to smile. After all, this was just the programming. No ghosts, no paranormal stuff, just programming. "Ah... I guess that was a thank you? No problem. Well... I think I can go now?"

Chica tilted her head, before simply waddling away. Jeremy let out a sigh and turned to get back into the office, but instead he ran right into another animatronic. Where did that one come from? He hadn’t heard any steps and the animatronics weren’t exactly what you would call silent.

When he looked up, Bonnie was staring down at him. Jeremy shivered, feeling the room turn cold. The small hairs on his arms and his neck started to rise straight up and his skin began to prickle.

'Don't pass out', he told himself over and over again, but passing out wouldn't be so bad right now. Probably.

Dave would later tell him that he screamed, but Jeremy wouldn't remember. The only thing he knew was that when Bonnie moved to pull him into a hug similar to Chica, he could feel how his heart stopped for a moment before everything went black.

 

When Jeremy awoke, he found himself lying on the stage with a jacket under his head so he wouldn't lie on the wooden floor. Groaning, he tried to sit up, but someone held him down quickly. "Don't move kiddo."

Dave leaned over him, giving him a worried look. Jeremy blinked. "What happened..."

The purple haired man chuckled. "You tell me. I heard you scream and then only saw you go limp suddenly and sprinted here. You would have hurt your head pretty bad if it wasn't for old Bonnie to catch you."

"Where is he?"

He tried to look around, but Dave's grip on his chest was firm. "Not here. Just stay, alright? I don't want you to pass out on me again kiddo. You should just relax for a while."

Jeremy bit his lip to stop his protest. He didn't want to lie around here, but Dave was probably right, he had just fainted and maybe shouldn't stand up for a while.

"How long have I been gone?"

Dave took a look at his phone. "About twenty minutes. If you would have stayed like this longer, I'd have probably called an ambulance. Are you okay now?"

Jeremy rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah. I guess. I just feel a bit weird."

"Good or bad?”, the purple haired man asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe it's still better if we call an ambulance. You look like you've seen a ghost."

The boy made a face. "Please, no ambulance. And no talking about ghosts right now!"

Dave was silent for a moment, before he sighed.

"You really believe it, right? Let me tell you, kiddo. There are no such things as ghosts and even if there were, they surely wouldn't hang out in a kids pizzeria. Alright? Maybe you've just seen too many horror movies. I know what it feels like to watch something like that and then be afraid that it's maybe real."

Jeremy stared at the ceiling without answering. It was just as he had thought, Dave thought of him as crazy. He shouldn't have asked in the first place.

His lip quivered and he squinted when he felt tears fill his eyes. He couldn't cry, not now! But soon enough, the tears silently rolled down his cheeks. Even closing his eyes didn’t stop them.

Dave didn't say anything, just watched the boy cry silently. He bit his lip. Jeremy looked beautiful like this, far more beautiful than he'd ever imagined. He had the urge to make him look at him, so he would be able to see his green eyes shining, shimmering with tears. It made his body tingle and he could feel his pants tighten. What would be more beautiful - to kill him, or to fuck him? Maybe both. The pure thought of taking this innocent boy and then taking his life made his pants even tighter, forcing him to bite back a gasp.

He gritted his teeth. This boy had such a weird impact on him and it was making him not only nervous, but angry. Still, he gave his best to calm down und gently, but awkwardly patted the boys shoulder. "Hey kiddo, no need to cry. Why are you even crying? Are you in pain?"

"I-It's okay."

Jeremy sat up, way too fast, and rubbed his eyes to get the tears away, clearly ashamed to have cried in front of his colleague. "I'm... just a moment... I'll be back..."

Before Dave could stop him, Jeremy was almost running over to the bathrooms. Quickly he shoved the door open and leaned over the sink, breathing hard. He was feeling dizzy and his head hurt like hell.

Trying to calm down, he splashed some water in his face and tried to get rid of the small, red tear stains around his eyes, but ended up making them only worse. The boy sniffed. Today way clearly not his day. Maybe he should just go home, but Dave wouldn't be able to lie to their boss for him all the time and he needed the money, no matter how bad the conditions were.

When he came back to the main hall, Dave was sitting on the stage and waited for him. The animatronics were nowhere to be seen or heard, which was weird. Normally you would at least hear them walking around somewhere, but the building was as silent as a grave. Jeremy shivered, but took a deep breath to stay calm.

"You're back.", Dave said, looking up at the boy and scanning his face. Clearly Jeremy had tried to wash the tear stains away, like they were proof of something bad he had done. He quickly shoved the thought away, not wanting to get aroused again.

"Are you better now?"

When Jeremy silently nodded, Dave took his jacket and stood up.

"Let's get back to work then. We still have two hours with these fuckers left, so let's try and make the best out of it."

The two hours they had left felt like days to Jeremy. He nervously nibbled on his lip and the nail of his thumb, trying not to look at the clock every few seconds.

Wherever they had been, the animatronics had come back when they had entered the office, walking around like nothing had happened. Jeremy glared at the cam that showed Bonnie standing near the stage, which made Dave laugh. 

"Don't hate that old bunny, he was probably jealous."

"How can a robot be jealous?"

"That's a good question. Programming?"

Dave smiled in such a mocking way that Jeremy had the sudden urge to punch the older man. Instead, he just gritted his teeth audibly and turned away, only to see on the clock that they could finally go home. Almost instantly, the boy jumped up and grabbed his bag. 

"See you next week!"

"Not so fast kiddo."

Dave grabbed him by the shoulder. "While you were gone, Mike sent me a message. He wants to go out for dinner with us tomorrow. Maybe grab some drinks. He even pays."

"Really?"

Jeremy blinked, surprised, and thought for a moment. There was nothing for him to loose and food for free was always something he could need. He shrugged. "Okay, why not. Where does he want to meet?"

"At Barney's. Do you know the place or does someone have to pick you up?"

He knew Barney's. It was not his favorite place, but it wasn't bad either. Kind of a bar where they served every alcoholic drink possible and some different dishes. Mostly the place was more or less crowded with drunk guys, so Jeremy avoided it, but together with his colleagues it wouldn't be so bad - would it?

"No, I know that bar. I was there one time."

"Good. He said that he wants to meet at 9. Is that okay for you?"

"Sure."

"I'll text him then. See you tomorrow, kiddo."


	5. So Close

"Come on..."

Jeremy walked up and down in his apartment while Mocha watched him curiously, not really understanding why his owner was behaving like this.

"The desired contact person is temporarily unavailable.", a mechanical voice told him, which made him groan. "Damn it Kathy... Why are you so mad at me?"

He flopped down on the couch with a sigh and began to pet Mocha, who purred happily. He had tried to contact Kathy in all possible ways now. Maybe he should just pay her a visit to see if she was okay and if she was still mad... well, she probably was, otherwise she wouldn't ignore him.

He looked at the clock. There were a few hours left until he had to meet Mike and Dave at Barney's. More than enough time to meet Kathy and still be punctual... but she clearly didn't want to talk to him. Maybe he should give her more time?

"What should I do, mh?"

He watched Mocha, who continued purring without even knowing of Jeremy's troubles. The boy smiled a bit. Being a cat sometimes was really desirable.

Jeremy decided to leave Kathy alone another day, even though he was worried about her. They had never had an argument like this before and it made him fear for their friendship. On the other hand, thinking they wouldn't be friends anymore was probably an overreaction. She just needed time to calm down and then everything would be alright.

Pleased with his conclusion, he made some use of his left over free time and cleaned the apartment, something he had wanted to do for some days now. There were dishes he had to wash, Mocha's hair had to be vacuumed from the floor and his windows could use some attention before winter came and made it impossible to clean them without freezing to death.

It took some time to do his chores, but Jeremy was proud of himself when his apartment once again looked like an independent and neat young man lived there. When he had been younger and still lived with his mother, his room had always been a mess, but Jeremy had changed a lot through the years, especially after he finally moved out. He had become an adult, at least in a way.

Taking a look at the clock just to realize that it was about time to get ready, Jeremy went showering and then to pick an outfit for the evening. It was just a friendly meeting with his colleagues, but he still wanted to look good, especially when he didn't had to wear his purple working uniform which wasn't exactly something that promoted his features, to be honest.

He decided to wear a black jeans that hugged his slender legs just right and a simple black shirt that wasn't too tight or too loose. After blow-drying his hair in shape, he looked at himself in the mirror. The black clothes made his white skin stand out even more, which in turn made his bright green eyes shine and the color of his red hair seem even more intensive. He looked good, but in his eyes he could still see his own insecurity. He was still Jeremy, even with his kinda sexy appearance.

He bit his lip, examining his freckled face; then he got a simple black eyeliner from one of the drawers that Kathy got him some time ago. Applying it carefully, like she had shown him, he completed his outfit. He smiled at his reflection, frowned, then tried a smirk. Somehow, that made him feel more comfortable with his look. Like this, he could go out. Now, he wouldn't be babied by his colleagues.

Grabbing his jacket and stuffing his wallet and his phone into the pockets, he went out, walking towards the bus station. There were busses every thirty minutes, which he was thankful for. A driving license was expensive and there was no way he could afford it. Or a car. So he was stuck with busses or being driven by friends. Or colleagues.

The sun had vanished some time ago to let the night with its darkness embrace the world, but Jeremy wasn't scared. He was old enough to know there were no monsters lurking in the dark and that he had nothing to fear. He even liked this, walking outside in the evening. The cold air reminded him that winter was near, biting at his nose and his ears, making his breath visible in the shine of the streetlights. Halloween was only two weeks away and then it was only a stone's throw until christmas with all its lights and snow. Jeremy smiled. He liked both holidays. On Halloween he would work the day shift, starting early in the morning. There would be a Halloween Party later that day and every hand was needed.

The bus came right when Jeremy reached the stop. He smirked at the driver while he bought his ticket, testing his new look. He felt more confident and he wanted to show that. It was a new feeling for the teenager, but it was somehow addicting. As he sat down, he couldn't help but imagine trying to impress Dave with his look. He quickly discarded that thought though. Dave was attractive, but they were colleagues and on top of that, Dave played in an entirely different league. Jeremy shouldn't allow himself to think about the man like this. This crush would only make him unhappy and their relationship would get damaged. Hell, he didn't even know for sure if Dave was into males. He seemed quite open for all genders, but that was no proof. And it wasn't like Jeremy could just walk up to him and ask him.

Jeremy sighed. He wanted to stop thinking about Dave like that, but it was like in these stupid cartoons on the internet, where the heart decided on the most unreachable person while the brain screamed bloody murder. Maybe going out with his colleagues wasn't such a good idea after all. But there was no way he could get out of this now. He wasn't that rude.

 

Mike and Dave were already waiting for him when Jeremy walked up to the bar, which was a short walking distance from the bus station. The boy smiled at them and waved. "Hey!"

Dave nodded in his direction with a smirk, while Mike waved, too and smiled openly at the teenager. "Jeremy! How's it? Ya doin good?"

"I'm fine, what about you?"

Jeremy stopped in front of the two men, looking at both of them.

"I'm fine.", Dave simply shrugged. Mike, on the other hand, smiled brightly. "Oh I'm good! So, who's hungry? I could eat a whole kangaroo!"

He winked at Jeremy, making sure the boy got the joke. Jeremy couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think they serve that here."

They left their jackets at the gaderobe in the front room of the bar and then went to look for a table. Jeremy felt a gaze on him; when he turned, Dave was looking at him in an odd way. If he didn't know better, the boy would've almost believed his colleague was checking him out. When their eyes met, Dave smirked, which caused Jeremy to blush and turn away. When he heard Dave snicker behind him, he gritted his teeth, angry with himself. He should've been confident, maybe even wink at the man. But just like all the time before he was as scared as a little mouse and chose to run away from the opportunity. It was unnerving how Dave could turn him back to a shy teenager with a simple smirk.

Sitting down in between the two other night guards, the boy grabbed for a menu card quickly, cheeks still red. There was another way for him to gain confidence and he would use it if he could.

When he told Mike what he wanted to order, the guard raised an eyebrow. "Ya sure kid? Ya not old enough for that, could get us in trouble ya know.”

Jeremy bit his lip, but then Mike smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll get that for ya. Just be sure ya can take it.”

Jeremy couldn’t take it. They had finished their food and the boy had asked for another drink just to now be far beyond what could still be called tipsy. With rosy cheeks he giggled over jokes from Mike that Dave could only roll his eyes at and if Dave wasn’t mistaken, Jeremy was sitting closer to him than he had just an hour ago.

After a while, Mike excused himself to go to the toilet, leaving Jeremy and Dave alone together. The teenager slumped back, breathing hard from all the laughing, and eyed his colleague who seemed genuinely uninterested in what was going on. “Hey, Dave?”

“Mh?”

“Your aftershave smells nice.”

When Dave looked down at Jeremy, the redhead smirked at him. Dave raised a brow, but then he decided to play along. If the teen became more confident when he was intoxicated, why not go with it.

“Probably doesn’t smell as nice as you look.”

Smirking as Jeremy’s cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, Dave leaned back, just for Jeremy to suddenly lean against him to whisper in his ear. “I wanted to look nice just for you.”

Dave was someone who valued his personal space very much. He didn’t like people invading that space or even worse, touching him, but to his own surprise, he didn’t feel like pushing Jeremy away.

“Is that so?”

Nodding, Jeremy pulled away a bit to look up at Dave, who took the boy’s chin between his thumb and index finger to get a closer look at his face - not that he needed to do that for it, but seeing the boy nibble on his lower lip almost nervously again made it worth it.

“You’ve dolled yourself up just for me?”

His eyes not leaving Jeremy’s, he freed the boys lower lip from his teeth with his thumb. Wiping a drop of blood away, he licked the small red smear from his finger, hearing how Jeremy’s breath hitched.

When Dave leaned closer, Jeremy let his eyes fall close, more than ready to let himself be kissed by his colleague. His lips quivered when he felt the older’s breath on them, the anticipation almost too much for him to handle.

Dave chuckled silently. “Mike’s coming back, kiddo.”

And just like that, the moment was over. Jeremy blinked, confused and when he looked around, he saw that indeed Mike was coming over to their table again. The teen couldn’t help but feel frustrated about that timing. He had been so close to kissing Dave!

Dave, fully aware of how frustrated Jeremy felt about the intruder, only smirked. The teen was somehow adorable, he had to admit that. He licked his lips, the faint taste of blood still on his tongue. Delicious, too.

The mood was somehow weird after their small encounter, even with Mike trying to lighten it again. Soon enough they decided that it was late, finished their drinks and made their way outside to say goodbye.

Mike softly ruffled Jeremy’s hair. “I like ya, newbie. Ya should come with us more often.”

“I’d like that.”, the teen smiled back, nodding. “See you, Mike!”

“See ya!”

The blond night guard waved, then strolled off towards his car, whistling a soft melody that Jeremy didn’t recognize. Then he was gone, leaving the teen alone with Dave.

“Hey, kiddo. You want me to take you home?

The way Dave placed his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder seemed completely normal, but the touch lingered a little longer than necessary. Jeremy could feel how his skin prickled with goosebumps, but the feeling wasn’t unpleasant.

“If you want to?”

He looked up at Dave, who would’ve almost rolled his eyes, but now only forced a smile.

“Sure. Can’t have you running around all alone in the middle of the night.”

Jeremy huffed softly, but still smiled as he followed Dave to his car and got in on the passenger's side.

They drove in silence, the short distance not really offering much time to talk anyway. Jeremy watched Dave, his heart racing in his chest. He could simply ask the man to come in and talk for a little longer. Maybe there would be another chance for them to kiss, one where nobody could interrupt.

But when Dave stopped the car, Jeremy found he just couldn’t do it. His hands were too sweaty, his heart beating too fast in his chest. Breathing was hard and he just couldn’t find the words to invite Dave in. So they simply bid each other goodbye and Jeremy entered his apartment alone.


End file.
